Open Forum

I have been given the task of making a First Time Visitors Guide for the Science Museum of Minnesota. I would like to know if any of your museums have put together such a guide and what are some of the things you included? What are some of the lessons you learned from the project that you would do next time? Feel free to get in contact with me. Thanks!

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Christine Randall
Science Museum of Minnesota
St. Paul MN
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It's an oldie but goodie, but I suggest you read:

• Eisner, E. W., & Dobbs, S. M. (1988). Silent pedagogy: How museums help visitors experience exhibitions. Art Education, 41(4), 6-15.

I would also urge you to ask some of your first-time visitors what they want to know. I did such a guide many years ago. Among other things, content included practical information (location of coat rack and restrooms), visitor behavior expectations (no touching and why not), and a guide to decoding labels (key to accession numbers).

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Pat Villeneuve PhD
Professor
Florida State University
Tallahassee FL

Original Message:
Sent: 11-11-2016 02:18 PM
From: Christine Randall
Subject: First Time Visitor Guide

I have been given the task of making a First Time Visitors Guide for the Science Museum of Minnesota. I would like to know if any of your museums have put together such a guide and what are some of the things you included? What are some of the lessons you learned from the project that you would do next time? Feel free to get in contact with me. Thanks!

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Christine Randall
Science Museum of Minnesota
St. Paul MN
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I would definitely check out what the Phoenix Art Museum did with their brochure series "I'm here..." which includes one for first time visitors.  They had a unique process to develop the brochures (a Design Sprint) and the results won them the 2015 Award for Excellence in Resources from the Education Committee of AAM.  This post discusses the project (https://designthinkingformuseums.net/2016/05/17/design-sprints-for-content-development/).

Best,

Claudia

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Claudia Ocello
President & CEO
Museum Partners Consulting, LLC
Maplewood NJ

Original Message:
Sent: 11-11-2016 02:18 PM
From: Christine Randall
Subject: First Time Visitor Guide

I have been given the task of making a First Time Visitors Guide for the Science Museum of Minnesota. I would like to know if any of your museums have put together such a guide and what are some of the things you included? What are some of the lessons you learned from the project that you would do next time? Feel free to get in contact with me. Thanks!

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Christine Randall
Science Museum of Minnesota
St. Paul MN
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Is this to be a print project or digital?

Are printed brochures still being effective in conveying the information you want to share with first time visitors? Either way though, you do want to ensure there is a buy-in from the audience so that they will use the content as intended.  The content will need to be engaging in some manner so that the visitors will remember things and want to learn more.

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Michael Mackay
Manager, Sales & Marketing
Spongelab Interactive
Toronto ON

Original Message:
Sent: 11-11-2016 02:18 PM
From: Christine Randall
Subject: First Time Visitor Guide

I have been given the task of making a First Time Visitors Guide for the Science Museum of Minnesota. I would like to know if any of your museums have put together such a guide and what are some of the things you included? What are some of the lessons you learned from the project that you would do next time? Feel free to get in contact with me. Thanks!

------------------------------
Christine Randall
Science Museum of Minnesota
St. Paul MN
------------------------------

One visitor guide brochure that impressed me was the one the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia "Leonardo da Vinci" in Milan provides for its visitors. The museum is located in an ancient building with a pretty confusing layout. To deal with it, each visitor gets a map and a list of suggested objects and path how to get there.

http://www.museoscienza.org/english/visiting/pdf/museum-map.pdf

http://www.museoscienza.org/download/highlights-A4_EN-web.pdf

As others said: make sure the crochure includes facilities like toilets, eating pleces, and really, really important: the exit.

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Angela Kipp
Depotleiterin / Collections Manager
TECHNOSEUM
Mannheim, Germany
angela.kipp@museumsprojekte.de

Join the Regisrar Trek at
http://world.museumsprojekte.de

Original Message:
Sent: 11-11-2016 02:18 PM
From: Christine Randall
Subject: First Time Visitor Guide

I have been given the task of making a First Time Visitors Guide for the Science Museum of Minnesota. I would like to know if any of your museums have put together such a guide and what are some of the things you included? What are some of the lessons you learned from the project that you would do next time? Feel free to get in contact with me. Thanks!

------------------------------
Christine Randall
Science Museum of Minnesota
St. Paul MN
------------------------------

"Why are the floors so tall?" (overheard at the Whitney Museum, NYC, Oct 22, 2016)

You've already gotten plenty of good advice, Christine, so here's an off-the-wall contribution. I wonder if you might create a space (dedicated or otherwise) in your lobby where you encourage visitors to post questions and/or leave advice for "first timers." Could be something as simple, and temporary, as a portable white/bulletin board. A museum visit prompts all kinds of questions, some of them like the one above being the kind that few adults would say aloud. How many museums give people, especially grown ups, the opportunity to ask "stupid" questions? (Questions seem to be mostly for kids, like interactives and craft activities.) Or to give advice about "don't miss" things to see or do a la Yelp? Of course, having prompted people's questions, you'll need to answer them. Can't imagine that's a bad thing considering what you might learn and how your newfound insight might improve your printed and online guides--if not your understanding of visitor needs and interests. Anything in the service of more listening in our work.

Good luck.

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Dean Krimmel, Creative Museum Services/Qm2
Interpretation/Exhibition Planning/Grantwriting
deankrimmel@qm2.org
Baltimore MD

Original Message:
Sent: 11-15-2016 05:45 AM
From: Angela Kipp
Subject: First Time Visitor Guide

One visitor guide brochure that impressed me was the one the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia "Leonardo da Vinci" in Milan provides for its visitors. The museum is located in an ancient building with a pretty confusing layout. To deal with it, each visitor gets a map and a list of suggested objects and path how to get there.

http://www.museoscienza.org/english/visiting/pdf/museum-map.pdf

http://www.museoscienza.org/download/highlights-A4_EN-web.pdf

As others said: make sure the crochure includes facilities like toilets, eating pleces, and really, really important: the exit.

------------------------------
Angela Kipp
Depotleiterin / Collections Manager
TECHNOSEUM
Mannheim, Germany
angela.kipp@museumsprojekte.de

Join the Regisrar Trek at
http://world.museumsprojekte.de

Original Message:
Sent: 11-11-2016 02:18 PM
From: Christine Randall
Subject: First Time Visitor Guide

I have been given the task of making a First Time Visitors Guide for the Science Museum of Minnesota. I would like to know if any of your museums have put together such a guide and what are some of the things you included? What are some of the lessons you learned from the project that you would do next time? Feel free to get in contact with me. Thanks!

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Christine Randall
Science Museum of Minnesota
St. Paul MN
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We work as partners (no cost to science centers) to create mobile tour guides. You may find my reply a bit biased in favor of mobile apps. However, we are seeing mobiles everywhere. Our learning after working with several museums and science centers is to offer a guide on mobile apps and rental tablets. The biggest benefit is to be able to change the apps every month and keep fine tuning till they are fully successful. You will need to find a partner (my employer or someone like us) who is willing to make on-going changes without cost on your side.

There are a lot of issues to offer the guide on paper/stickers:

1. Flexibility to include audio, video, text and pictures is not there on paper. Making changes are difficult.

2. Paper guides do not offer ability to drill down for more information for info hungry folks.

3. They do not connect to social media to share with family & friends.

4. Doing them in multiple languages is very difficult.

5. Apps can also have donation, mobile ticketing, mobile gift stores to leverage other revenue.

6. Adding children/family games is an added benefit of an app.

7. Apps can be made interactive for kids.

Snehal Shah Mobile Tour Guide App Platform for Museums,Walking Tours, Driving Tours, Visitor Attractions-ActionShow App

Actionshowapp		remove preview
Mobile Tour Guide App Platform for Museums,Walking Tours, Driving Tours, Visitor Attractions-ActionShow App A platform for attractions to create Apple & Android apps that visitors download on their own phones to use as tour guides. Low cost, sets up in weeks and replaces audio guides. View this on Actionshowapp >

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Snehal Shah
Action Data Systems, LLC
Barrington RI

Original Message:
Sent: 11-11-2016 02:18 PM
From: Christine Randall
Subject: First Time Visitor Guide

I have been given the task of making a First Time Visitors Guide for the Science Museum of Minnesota. I would like to know if any of your museums have put together such a guide and what are some of the things you included? What are some of the lessons you learned from the project that you would do next time? Feel free to get in contact with me. Thanks!

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Christine Randall
Science Museum of Minnesota
St. Paul MN
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